Mohammad Amir not far from making an international comeback

“We are considering Mohammad Amir (for a comeback).” PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan said in Lahore after a meeting with head coach Waqar Younis and national chief selector Haroon Rashid. These are the most positive words Pakistan’s 23-year old seamer Mohammad Amir may have heard after he completed his ban from international cricket in September this year.

Found guilty of spot-fixing alongside his then captain Salman Butt and his new ball partner Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir was banned for five years from all forms of cricket in 2010. His domestic ban was already lifted in January, but he wasn’t allowed to represent Pakistan in international cricket until the completion of his 5-year term in September.

Since his return to domestic cricket, Amir has generated a lot of attention from fans, local and international media. His bowling form has also been superb considering that he didn’t play any recognized cricket for nearly 50 months. He is currently playing in the Bangladesh Premier League and has taken 11 wickets in 8 games including that of Pakistan’s Test skipper Misbah-ul-Haq and the T20 skipper Shahid Afridi.

“I have to call senior players and Amir and tell Amir that there should be modesty and humility in him.” the PCB chairman further said. “People will look to him. It looks like he has performed well over the last four-five months and is knocking on the door for us to consider him. If coach and selectors decide that he has to come, we will ask the board of governors before taking a decision on him.”

Head coach Waqar Younis also talked about his return to the national side and didn’t seem to be bothered with his past. “We had a detailed discussion on Mohammad Amir and we all are on same page,” Waqar said. “If he has served his punishment he deserves to come back in the community and enhance his profession. If he has been given permission to play in BPL there’s no wrong thing in it. He is in very good form. He has proved it. He has proved to the ICC, he has proved to the PCB that he is on the right track and it’s our responsibility that we should give him another opportunity.”

These words will be quite encouraging for the young bowler, but his teammates may not share the same views as the chairman and the coach. Mohammad Hafeez, just recently, turned down an offer from BPL because of Amir as he didn’t want to play in a league that played players who brought shame to their country. Sources claim that there are many players like Mohammad Hafeez who are not in favor of his return and have not come public with their views.

The future of Mohammad Amir lies in the hands of national selection committee but with his performance he has proved that he deserves to be back in a green shirt for Pakistan.